Ramaraksha
Senior Member
Here, in the REAL WORLD, when we apply take a loan we are expected to pay it back
We gave our word on it and are expected to back it up - except maybe if we have a student loan, that is
I am a liberal but I did not agree with forgiving of student loans
I myself, had a big loss once in the stock market - unfortunately i was trading using my credit card - lesson learned
but years of frugal living and paying back the credit card debt - that is the right thing to do
Anyway, I digress
.
Here in the REAL WORLD, when we make a mistake, we are expected to correct it
Assume someone has had too much to drink one night, starts driving anyway, and causes some material damage
In the light of the day, sure he is repentant - but is that enough?
Will the judge let him go because he cried and said he was sorry?
of course not
1 - The judge will tell him to stop crying. It is not about him, it is about the VICTIM!
2 - Apologies are to be rendered to the victim(s), not to the Judge
3 - And this is the most important point - the victim has to be made whole. The loss that he or she suffered has to be made up
The material damage needs to be rectified. If it was a parked car, the damages should be paid for
And if the car is in the repair shop for a while, a rental car needs to be made available to the victim, all paid for by the drunken driver
.
This is the REAL WORLD we live in, where we expect persons with morals to keep their word, to do the right thing
But when I read religious books writing about the dead meeting God, I see a missing person - not one word about the VICTIM
God, the judge & the criminal get together and decide that the criminal can go scot-free - all because he/she repented!
God will help the criminal cheat his creditors, victims
It is confusing how this repentance works even, are we repenting for actions that we KNOW are wrong?
A Racist or an Anti-Semite thinks he did nothing wrong, so then are they absolved of their wrongs?
And what if we forget our wrongs, not held liable either?
.
And even if the criminal lands in hell - how does it help the victim(s)?
Some years ago in Minnesota, a family "friend" abducted a little child, raped and killed her
He was caught and sentenced - assume after death he is either forgiven or sent to hell
But will that give life back to that little girl?
If she is in Heaven looking down, she can see all her friends getting on with their lives, having careers, chasing after their dreams,
falling in love, getting married, having children - all the joys and celebrations of life that were denied to her
And her parents? Every time they are attend a graduation, birthday celebration, marriage etc, they are sure to think about their
little child lost - "She would be doing this today" would be the constant sadness
No justice for either the little girl or her parents
"God" can only dispense Vengeance, torture, not Justice
.
It is quite clear that all religions are man-made
We still think in terms of vengeance, getting back at those who harmed us
Hollywood loves Vengeance, Justice not so much
The Kill Bill Movies - something bad happens to the hero/heroine in the beginning of the movie, and then it is a kill fest
The audiences blood lust is satisfied
But was Justice done? Did the heroine in the above movie get her husband back? A family that she planned with him?
"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind" said Gandhiji
.
Back in the day, what we term as "justice" today, bringing the criminal to court and making him face his accusers and be held accountable
might have been non-existent
It is difficult even now to prove someone is guilty, even with all our modern techniques, we can imagine back in the day it was much worse
And so back in the day it was instant "justice" - an eye for an eye
And from such times came Heaven and Hell
Those ancient people were not fools - that was the life they had and they did the best they could to come up with answers
What is sad is to see today's bright and best blindly following such primitive ideas
We gave our word on it and are expected to back it up - except maybe if we have a student loan, that is
I am a liberal but I did not agree with forgiving of student loans
I myself, had a big loss once in the stock market - unfortunately i was trading using my credit card - lesson learned
but years of frugal living and paying back the credit card debt - that is the right thing to do
Anyway, I digress
.
Here in the REAL WORLD, when we make a mistake, we are expected to correct it
Assume someone has had too much to drink one night, starts driving anyway, and causes some material damage
In the light of the day, sure he is repentant - but is that enough?
Will the judge let him go because he cried and said he was sorry?
of course not
1 - The judge will tell him to stop crying. It is not about him, it is about the VICTIM!
2 - Apologies are to be rendered to the victim(s), not to the Judge
3 - And this is the most important point - the victim has to be made whole. The loss that he or she suffered has to be made up
The material damage needs to be rectified. If it was a parked car, the damages should be paid for
And if the car is in the repair shop for a while, a rental car needs to be made available to the victim, all paid for by the drunken driver
.
This is the REAL WORLD we live in, where we expect persons with morals to keep their word, to do the right thing
But when I read religious books writing about the dead meeting God, I see a missing person - not one word about the VICTIM
God, the judge & the criminal get together and decide that the criminal can go scot-free - all because he/she repented!
God will help the criminal cheat his creditors, victims
It is confusing how this repentance works even, are we repenting for actions that we KNOW are wrong?
A Racist or an Anti-Semite thinks he did nothing wrong, so then are they absolved of their wrongs?
And what if we forget our wrongs, not held liable either?
.
And even if the criminal lands in hell - how does it help the victim(s)?
Some years ago in Minnesota, a family "friend" abducted a little child, raped and killed her
He was caught and sentenced - assume after death he is either forgiven or sent to hell
But will that give life back to that little girl?
If she is in Heaven looking down, she can see all her friends getting on with their lives, having careers, chasing after their dreams,
falling in love, getting married, having children - all the joys and celebrations of life that were denied to her
And her parents? Every time they are attend a graduation, birthday celebration, marriage etc, they are sure to think about their
little child lost - "She would be doing this today" would be the constant sadness
No justice for either the little girl or her parents
"God" can only dispense Vengeance, torture, not Justice
.
It is quite clear that all religions are man-made
We still think in terms of vengeance, getting back at those who harmed us
Hollywood loves Vengeance, Justice not so much
The Kill Bill Movies - something bad happens to the hero/heroine in the beginning of the movie, and then it is a kill fest
The audiences blood lust is satisfied
But was Justice done? Did the heroine in the above movie get her husband back? A family that she planned with him?
"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind" said Gandhiji
.
Back in the day, what we term as "justice" today, bringing the criminal to court and making him face his accusers and be held accountable
might have been non-existent
It is difficult even now to prove someone is guilty, even with all our modern techniques, we can imagine back in the day it was much worse
And so back in the day it was instant "justice" - an eye for an eye
And from such times came Heaven and Hell
Those ancient people were not fools - that was the life they had and they did the best they could to come up with answers
What is sad is to see today's bright and best blindly following such primitive ideas